Heat exchanging appliances, such as water heaters, may include a sealed refrigeration system. Generally, sealed refrigeration systems circulate a set mass of refrigerant about a closed loop, such as through a compressor element. During heat exchange operations, heat absorbed at one portion of the loop may be transferred to the refrigerant before being circulated to another portion of the loop. In some systems, multiple discrete conduits or joints are connected to each other and to separate elements of the sealed refrigeration system. Together, the connected conduits form the closed loop.
Although sealed refrigeration systems generally provide a predetermined or set mass of refrigerant within the closed loop, instances may arise in which a portion of refrigerant needs to be added or removed from the closed loop. For instance, during assembly of the system, an initial charge of refrigerant may be provided to the system. In addition, many maintenance operations may require draining refrigerant from at least a portion of the closed loop. In order to facilitate the addition or removal of refrigerant, some appliances include one or more process tubes that are connected within the closed loop of the sealed refrigeration system. In some instances, the process tube is fixed to a separate joint, such as a T-joint, between two separate conduits. During heat exchange operations, the process tube is generally sealed. Refrigerant flows along the closed loop through the T-joint, but refrigerant within the process tube is largely static. When refrigerant needs to be added or removed from the closed loop, the process tube may be unsealed, and refrigerant may flow therethrough as it is added/removed from the sealed system. Although these existing configurations allow for the introduction or removal of refrigerant, they also introduce potential failure or leak points for the sealed system. For instance, over time, a T-joint may start to leak as the sealing connection fails.
Accordingly, there is a need for further improvements in the field of heat exchange appliances. It would be advantageous if a sealed system or appliance was provided that addressed some of the problems identified above.